From law to tech: Who’s championing equal parental leave in the UK?
New research has revealed the inaugural list of 165 UK employers that offer equal parental leave, including more than 20 professional services firms.
The full findings, which will be formally launched at the UK’s first Working Dads’ Summit, revealed that 72 of the 165 companies offer dads up to six months of fully paid paternity leave.
The UK has one of the least generous statutory paternity packages in Europe, as fathers and other eligible non-birthing partners are entitled to just two weeks of statutory paternity leave.
The pay is either £187.18 per week (as of April 2025) or 90 per cent of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. This is 43 per cent lower than the national living wage, and according to The TUC, one in five fathers in the UK take no parental leave at all.
In addition to fathers being able to spend more time with their newborns, it is well-established that paternity leave is also beneficial for working women, as it promotes a more equitable distribution of childcare responsibilities.
Of the companies on the list, 26 were professional services firms—primarily law firms—such as Addleshaw Goddard, Clyde & Co, Herbert Smith Freehills, Linklaters, and Mishcon de Reya.
Only a few management consulting firms were listed, which included Bain & Company and Deloitte, which, as of last September, became the first Big Four firm to offer 26 weeks of equal parental leave.
Sector standouts
The finance and insurance sectors dominated the list, with 35 companies named, including Abrdn (Standard Life Aberdeen PLC), Aviva, Deutsche Bank, Direct Line Group, Goldman Sachs, Investec, J.P. Morgan, Klarna, Lloyd’s Banking Group, and the London Stock Exchange.
The technology and telecommunications sector comprises 17 companies, including BT Group, HP, Lenovo, Netflix, Sony Music, Vodafone, and Wise. Close behind are the retail and consumer goods industries, which feature 16 businesses, including Aldi, Burberry Group PLC, Diageo, Innocent Drinks, John Lewis, Mars, Tate & Lyle, and Unilever.
Other sectors that emerged included construction, publishing, travel and hospitality, healthcare, and real estate, with notable companies such as Cambridge University Press, Knight Frank, and Booking.com.
Of the 165 UK employers offering equal parental leave, 72 offer fathers up to six months fully paid paternity leave, but the average is 20 weeks of fully paid paternity leave.
Another benefit of the leave is that it can often be taken in two parts; many new fathers will take a period of leave when their baby is first born and another period of leave when their partner returns to work.
At the Summit next Tuesday, energy giant E.ON, which is on the list, will share with the crowd that over 350 of its staff members have taken advantage of this benefit since its launch in January 2023.
Commenting on the data, Elliott Rae, founder of Parenting Out Loud, said, “Supporting dads to be equal parents is good for everybody. It is essential for workplace gender equality, with 80 per cent of the gender pay gap attributed to the motherhood penalty.”
One of the firms not listed was the London office of US law firm Jenner & Block, after Christine Braamskamp, managing partner, revamped her office’s parental leave policy by increasing staff leave from the standard two weeks to up to 20 weeks.
Speaking to City PM in June 2024, Braamskamp said, “I wanted there to be a parental leave policy that all but equalises the position between men and women.”
“However, the policy alone is not enough,” added Rae.
He explained: “Businesses must invest in culture change work to normalise male caring and support dads to Parent Out Loud at work; taking the full parental leave available, requesting flexible working for childcare reasons and having an open diary with their childcare responsibilities.”